Watery landscapes possess the magical power of mirroring, being able to reflect whichever scene unfolds above. Which – in the case of this scene featuring an unusual red sailboat – is a lot! Not only does the boat perfectly line up with the high-contrast snow-white iceberg and gray cliffs behind, but also the pearlescent moon rising above.
Plus, even a friendly seagull decided to swoop in for a photo bomb! Taken in the beautifully icy Ilulissat in Greenland by Erik Lee, it’s the prime example of a noteworthy #nofilter shot. Yes, this photo really isn’t ‘shopped, as many Redditors assumed.
“ITAP of a red sailboat with icebergs” by Erik Lee (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)
Nor is it a composite shot, like many others thought. Call it the perfect timing or luck, Erik’s smart use of burst mode is actually probably due the most of the credit:
To take a picture like this, you need a fast shutter speed on burst mode, an aperture that can get everything in focus, and image stabilization on…. I got the bird using burst mode to take many shots, and actually, there are many seagulls in Greenland flying by every minute.
An aperture of f/8 and shutter speed of 1/250s on burst mode were Erik’s exact settings, if you’re wondering. And the larger-than-average moon? Thanks to a longer telephoto lens, it appears larger than life. To be more specific, he used a Nikon Z7 with a 24-200mm lens at 185mm.
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